


Bright and Early

by natural_singularity



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Christopher Diaz is a National Treasure, Diaz Family Feels, Domestic Fluff, Eddie Diaz Week 2020, Eddie's Parents Mentioned - Freeform, Fluff, Gen, and it ain't positive kids, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:22:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24746020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natural_singularity/pseuds/natural_singularity
Summary: The morning Chris leaves for summer camp.For Day 1 of Eddie Diaz Week - Eddie & the Son Who Adores Him
Relationships: Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 75
Collections: Eddie Diaz Week 2020





	Bright and Early

* * *

**El Paso, Texas - 2018**

_They’re leaving this morning. Their bags are packed, the truck is loaded, and they’re dressed to drive for most of the day. Anything they didn’t want or couldn’t fit in the truck was sold, donated, or trashed. They’ll buy new stuff when they get to Los Angeles. It’s just stuff, after all._

_They’re gathering the last bit of their stuff this morning, and Eddie is shoving down all of the panic and uncertainty that’s trying to bubble up inside his chest._

_Quickly after that disaster of a ‘conversation’ with his parents, he accepted the opening with the LAFD. He signed the rental agreement for the house. He squared things away between Christopher's old school and his new one. Each decision further cemented this new reality for him and Chris, and now he’s just trying to reconcile his battling feelings of anxiety and confidence._

_He hasn’t told Abuela or Aunt Pepa that he and Christopher are moving. He doesn’t want them to have to lie to his parents, since he’s pretty sure neither woman would tip them off, because he also may have failed to mention to his parents that they’re leaving El Paso._

_Every day his mind replays that moment--ambush–-in their living room, over and over again. He’s still fuming, shaking with anger and embarrassment, and he can’t help but feel a little betrayed ("Don't drag him down with you" - are they fucking joking?) But maybe the most disappointing part of all, is that he’s not even really surprised. His parents have always been manipulative and condescending, even when he was a child; it just took him a little while, and maybe a kid of his own, to see it for himself._

_So fuck them. They can be caught wrong-footed by his decision, just like he was with theirs. They can fight about it some other time. Preferably when Eddie and Christopher are approximately eight hundred miles away._

_This is the right choice. This is the only choice that makes sense to him._

_Chris is buckled into his car seat in the back, still a little too groggy with sleep to bounce with excitement as he had the night before. Eddie starts the truck and clicks his seatbelt before glancing back at him, a soft smile on his face. “Ready?”_

_And his son, his amazing, smart, brave, compassionate, beautiful with-a-heart-of-gold son, nods sleepy and gives him a thumbs up. “Ready!”_

* * *

**Los Angeles, California - 2020**

“Rise and shine, little man,” Eddie raps lightly on Christopher’s bedroom door, then swings it the rest of the way open.

Chris is already sitting up in his bed, rubbing at his eyes. He pulls on his glasses and grins at his dad. “Camp starts today!” He croaks loudly, voice still rough with sleep.

“It sure does! You excited?”

Chris nods enthusiastically. “Let’s do this!”

And Eddie can’t help but smile and repeat back to him, “Let’s do this.”

They both wake up properly with their morning stretches and exercises. Eddie prepares just enough scrambled eggs and toast for the two of them, listening attentively and asking questions as Christopher rambles excitedly about all the camp activities and events.

Freshly showered, they stand at the mirror together, brushing their teeth and fixing their hair. Sort of. Eddie’s growing his own hair out again, but there’s not too much to comb yet. And they trimmed Chris’ wild curls just to keep them manageable, but lately he loves to leave them messy anyway. And Eddie figures, as long as it’s not tangled past the point of no return, Chris can rock whatever look he wants. 

They part ways to get dressed, and once he’s ready to go, he makes his way back to Chris’ room. He grabs the duffel bag by his desk and sets it on his bed, before handing Chris the packing checklist that the camp provided. 

“Okay!” Chris starts. “Shirts?”

He pokes around the bag before replying, “Check!”

“Shorts and swimming trunks?”

“Check!”

“To--uh. Toy-leh-trees. Toiletries?”

Eddie offers him a high-five for his success before fetching the small bag from the bathroom and settling it into the bag. “Check.”

Chris gives him a tiny pout for the next item, “Medications?” Eddie gives him a loud, smacking kiss on his forehead, gets a laugh and a small shove in response, then fetches those as well. He spoke with one of the camp counselors already, they know to grab the bag from Chris when he arrives. And he only called once with follow-up questions, so yeah, he’s doing pretty good.

They make their way down the list, double-checking that items are already packed and grabbing items if they’re missing. When they reach the bottom Chris declares, “Done!” with the kind of satisfaction it seems only a child can experience. He zips up his duffel and gets to his feet. “Is it time to leave yet?”

And his breath catches a bit, realizing yet again how much Christopher has grown since they moved out here. His incredible, determined little man, who shines and thrives in his growing independence; who is so kind-hearted, so generous with his affection and forgiveness; who is so clever and smart, offering facts and asking questions that leave Eddie in awe every day. They’ve both grown so much together, working to recover from trauma and navigating difficult conversations.

Eddie is so, so proud of him, of both of them. He’s so grateful to have two feet on dry land, to still be standing next to this brilliant kid as he grows up. But he doesn’t have time to get weepy about it, he’ll have the next two weeks to do that on his own time. It’ll be fine.

Eddie glances at his watch and attempts to mask his anxiety with enthusiasm. “Yep, looks like we should head out. One last bathroom break before we go, okay?”

Once their shoes are on, the house is locked, and they settle into the truck to leave, Eddie asks him, “Ready kid?”

“Ready!” Chris chirps happily from the backseat.

Eddie catches his eye in the rearview mirror and winks at him with a smile, before pulling out of the driveway, onto their next adventure.


End file.
